


Berlin Nights

by heroiccaptain



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pre-Canon, Pre-Kingsman: The Secret Service, Romantic Fluff, Sharing a Room, Young Merlahad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24240061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heroiccaptain/pseuds/heroiccaptain
Summary: In the year of 1985, the young agents Merlin and Galahad go on their second mission together to Berlin. It would have been just another day of work for the spies, if they haven't been yearning for each other for months now. Would sharing a room in Berlin make them share their feelings as well?
Relationships: Harry Hart | Galahad & Merlin, Harry Hart | Galahad/Merlin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	1. Sleeping Habits

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy this young merlahad fic!
> 
> Merlin is 22, Galahad 25 :)

— Galahad. Merlin. You two are going to Western Berlin. We have the information a suspicious businessman is going there, probably to close a deal about a bomb. We need to keep a eye on him closely during these times. Take the file, Galahad. Merlin, you'll have time to put a wire in his room. Pack immediately, the plane is waiting for you.

The remarkable young agents nodded to Arthur and quickly went to their dorm to pack their bags.

The dorms were an innovation of the 80s, designed for the new recruits to get used to the job's rhythm. The two men had been sharing one since they arrived at the same time in the Agency, 10 months ago from now.

As Harry finished his packing first, he stood by the door, waiting for the wizard.

— They do have blankets at the hotel, you know? — Harry noticed Merlin packing his blue blanket.

— Don't talk about my blanket and I won't talk about the bottle of gin I saw ye hiding three minutes ago in yer bag.

— Fair enough.

In 1985, few aircrafts were as modern or classy as the Kingsman plane. The two agents were sitting facing each other, their bags on the seats by their side. Harry was going through the file, while Merlin had his headset on, listening to his newest aquisition, a mixtape of John Denver hits.

— Merlin, I believe that if our target is meeting an other man, then we have a chance of finding out more about why are they negotiating, in the first place. Do you want to take a look at it?

— Sure — he could perfectly listen to both John Denver and Galahad.

Galahad leaned on to hand him the file and so did Merlin, to accept it.

As he grabbed it, Hamish felt their hands slightly touching. A shiver went down his spine.

Harry didn’t seem to notice. He had already leaned back and was looking at the window. Later, he occasionally began to touch the hand that brushed on Merlin’s.

In Merlin’s headset, Annie’s Song played again and again from that moment until they reached Berlin. “If love could be a song”, the wizard conjectured, “that would be the one”. That was what loving sounded like. Immediately, he thought about Galahad’s warm eyes, kind smile and the touch of his hand. “Bloody John Denver”. 

_You fill up my senses_

_Like a night in a forest_

_Like the mountains in springtime_

_Like a walk in the rain_

_Like a storm in the desert_

_Like a sleepy blue ocean..._

— Good night — Harry offered politely to the front desk clerk.

— _Guten Abend_! Your names, gentlemen?

— Bennet and Darcy — Harry answered, thinking how oblivious that sounded.

— Here are your keys. The room has a door separating the two bedrooms, if you prefer. _Willkommen in Berlin_ and enjoy your stay!

— _Danke schön_ — Merlin answered and Harry turned amused at him.

He shouldn't be surprised anymore. The wizard was full of wonders, as he had been noticing.

Merlin spent no longer than 3 minutes in their room. He threw his bag on the bed and left with his tech devices to sneak into the target’s room, right above theirs.

This was their second mission together and Harry was quite used to Merlin’s methods. The first part of it all was always his to work with, making Galahad without much to do. Bored, he sauntered around the place in the mean time and unconciously or not, quickly found himself in Merlin’s bedroom, checking his mixtape.

“Never heard of this one”, he thought.

He heard footsteps coming from the corridor and abruptly ran to his bedroom, closing the door that separate the rooms. He felt like a kid. It was a childish and irrational act. But so was love, wasn’t it?

“Love”, he thought. “Yes, it’s love”.

Two hours had gone by, not a word between the men.

Harry wanted to go there, to ask more about that singer, to have a drink with the other agent. He didn't. He was way too shy to do so and thinking about it made him very nervous. He had never tried to flirt with another man before. He also never kissed one. He wondered if Merlin had.

He poured himself another glass of gin, frustrated for now being jealous of the man Merlin might have kissed in the past, a man he wasn’t even sure that existed. He needed a goddamn bathtub bath, otherwise he would never relax that night.

On his way to the bathroom, the phone rang. It was the front desk clerk they had payed to keep them informed.

In the 80s, the spy techniques could be quite cliché, but they worked, eventually.

* * *

  * Mr. Darcy?



  * Yes?



  * That friend of yours arrived and asked for a different room, we relocated him to the Master Suite. He checked in and left for a night club.



  * Thank you very much for your services.



* * *

That wasn’t planned. The bug was planted in the wrong bedroom and they need it to put it in the right one. By they, he meant Merlin, of course.

He opened the door discretly and there it was, an image he had become quite used to see. The image that made Harry Hart sure of his feelings for the man every time he see it.

Merlin, wearing a white shirt and black boxers, cuddling to that blue blanket of his, sleeping peacefully.

Harry had noticed this sleeping habit of his a while ago, back in the dorm. The wizard seemed to enjoy the feeling of hugging something all night long. It was absolutely adorable.

He walked five steps closer to the man's bed and stood there. Harry felt sorry for interrupting his sleep, but of course he needed to. Still, he granted himself some more seconds of watching the scene, before finally trying to wake him up delicately. 

— Uh, Merlin?

— Hum? — he held the blanket closer, still sleepy.

— Merlin — he said a bit louder.

— Galahad! — he woke up nervously, pushing the blanket away and awkwardly reaching for his glasses in the bedside table — Why are ye here? What's the matter?

— The target changed his reservation. You’ll have to relocate the wire to the Master Suite. He’s outside the hotel now.

— Right away.

— Hope I didn't disturb you and your blanket — Harry couldn’t help but make a sassy remark. He didn’t even know why he said that, though. Was he jealous of a blanket?

Merlin didn’t look at him, kept his eyes on his bag, while looking for his trousers. Now awake, he realized he was holding his special blanket before Galahad woke him up. Of course the man had seen him hugging it.

Consciously, Merlin didn't even know why he did it. He just felt lonely at night and couldn't sleep properly without hugging it. That's why he always had that blanket with him. He had spent his entire life sleeping alone. Being able to hug something was comfortable enough to make his body relax and he fall asleep easier that way.

He didn’t feel ashamed for it, though. Was he guilty for never having the chance of cuddling to someone at night? For not having the romantic experiences everyone seemed to have? 

— Do ye have a problem with that? — he stated rudely, as a defense mechanism.

— Certainly not, Merlin.

— Alright, then.

Harry walked back to his room, closing the door between them. He was physically exhausted to prepare a bathtub bath, anyway, so he just fell on the bed.

As he adjusted the covers, he wished he had answered Merlin’s question with a "yes, you should be cuddling with me instead", but there was something refraining him from doing.

He knew the rules. In his training he was even recommended to not become acquaintance with others. Imagine having a romantic relationship with one. Other men could. They couldn't.

“They should”, Harry thought, “they absolutely, undeniably, desperately should”.

Only if he was lucky enough to have his feelings reciprocated by the man, perhaps he would feel as rebellious as Jane Austen's heroines. If Merlin loved him too, then the rules would be irrelevant. But what was he thinking? “Perhaps in another lifetime”, he sadly stated in his mind, right before falling asleep.

In the morning when he woke up, Harry found himself hugging a pillow.


	2. Call Me By My Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Berlin, they could be themselves.

Merlin knocked on the door that separated their bedrooms by night.

— Come. Ye will want to hear this, Galahad.

The tape recording was on and they both had headsets to listen to what the target was saying.

— Ye were right about the negotiation. The other man is coming to his room.

They silently waited for the moment. They heard the usual greetings, a bottle of wine being opened. The two men spoke something in french they couldn’t understand what it was at the moment. A few seconds later, they presumed what had been.

They could hear the two men moaning, shoes being taken off, a painting falling off the wall.

Merlin had his eyes fixed upon the wooden table, unable to look up. Harry was staring at the window the whole time, hand supporting his chin and his eyebrows lifted from time to time, with certain sounds.

— Think that’s enough, eh? — Five long minutes had passed.

— Yes, Merlin. They don’t sound like they’re going to negotiate tonight.

— Not business, at least.

— No, quite a different contract.

They smiled, shily.

— What do we tell Arthur? — Harry inquired as Merlin turned off the recording.

— It’s all recorded. He’ll understand the target didn’t come to Berlin to work. We’ve done our part.

— I see. Well, the man surely knows how to balance work and his social life.

— Lucky lad.

— You don’t? — his tone was curious.

— Don’t have a social life to put in the balance.

— I see. That part is lacking in my life too.

A brief silence. The wizard was packing the tech devices.

— That recording will make some agents laugh back in the Agency — Merlin offered.

— Imbeciles. Can’t see beyond their privilege and sneer what they don’t understand. The world has so many outrageous aspects happening, daily. The existence of homosexuals is certainly not one of them — Harry paused, swallowing — We exist, despite all their insistence against it.

He was aware of what his words meant. He wasn’t afraid of coming out to Merlin, not there. In the mansion, even in their dorm, they never had the opportunity of being themselves, fully. In Berlin they did.

— Aye, we do — Merlin nodded, confidently looking Galahad in the eyes. 

Harry blushed. He wasn’t quite sure if Merlin was gay or not and now that settled it. Not everyone could understand the relief that is to know the man you are in love with wasn’t straight. The sentence automatically gave the room a lighter atmosphere. The agents were who they were, without the need of hiding.

— Perhaps we should order the most expensive wine they have, out of spite — he indicated the room service menu on the table, next to Merlin.

He took the menu in his hands, casually. They were comfortable in each other’s company. Comfortable enough.

— What will ye want for dinner, Harry?

The room was silent. Harry first liked the way his name sounded in Merlin's voice but then he realised Merlin had just said his  _ real _ name. The name he wasn't supposed to know.

— How do you know my name? — Harry inquired, confused.

— I made a mistake, Galahad. Leave it be — his eyes now focused on the room service menu, his armour restored.

— You read my file. How? Why?

— I hacked the system, alright? I wanted to know — Merlin blurted out.

— Why would you want to know?!

— It's none of yer business.

— It clearly is! — Harry took a deep breath, controlling himself — I understand you hate my presence, you’re always bitter, avoiding my company. I certainly don't like that because I like yours. So don't I have the right to know why you dislike mine?

— I don't hate ye.

— Well, I must say that's a surprise because-

— I hate not having ye — he faced the hardwood floor. Expressing feelings was very disturbing for him, but he figured Harry had the right to listen to the truth.

Merlin was aware he could lose his job for that, but Harry had those trustworthy eyes, adorable puppy eyes.

Harry's mind was busy, with all sorts of thoughts, puzzle pieces finally falling into place.

After a few seconds, he calmed himself enough to realise he hadn't answered yet.

— You should have me. I most certainly want to have you.

— You want...me...too? — Merlin said, almost hopeful, as he couldn't believe. He frowned his eyebrows, then his expression shifted to a sad one — I, no, I- can't. We can't.

— We can't. Still, we really should.

Merlin couldn’t believe in what was happening.

— Is this some kind of test? To test my integrity once again? For Pete’s sake, just because I’m a Scot...— he started to search for a wire in their room.

— Christ, man! Can't you accept I'm in love with you too?

— Nae, it's suspicious.

— Why bollocks would it be suspicious?

— Look at ye. It’s another test, eh? — he had a know-it-all look on his face.

Harry was losing his patience, the man was completely mad. Gorgeous, but mad.

— Merlin…

He kept moving the furniture, looking for all the plausible places where a bug would be planted.

— Merlin — Harry tried again.

— I'm sure those posh agents in the headquarters would be pleased in seeing me leaving, hum.

— Hamish.

He froze.

Harry had called him for his first name, he must have gone through his file. But how? He had connections, of course. That wasn’t the point.

Why did he? With the same intent Merlin had, perhaps? To find out more about the man he had been pining for months, almost a year now? Was he for Harry the same Harry was for him? The man he couldn't have but dreamt of having every single night?

He stopped searching and looked directly into the other man’s eyes.

— I’m in love with you. Please, believe me — Galahad felt a glimpse of a knight’s bravery when expressing those vulnerable words.

— I believe ye. I am- — he couldn’t finish the sentence —This job is all I have, Harry. I'm not like the rest of ye. Don't have the safety net of aristocracy.

— I know. The last thing I would ever want is to put you in danger because of my immature ways of dealing with emotions. I just, I've been holding my feelings long enough. I think it all began when I first saw you hugging that bloody blanket 5 months ago.

— My blanket?

— Yes. You seemed lonesome and I couldn't help but think I could be the one hugging you. And that's when it occurred to me, the feeling I've been having since I met you and couldn't quite point what it was. I've never felt like this before. As awful as it can be to not have you, I don't want to feel any other way.

Merlin started to laugh.

— What? — Harry frowned.

— Ye are jealous over a blanket? — he had listened to the rest of it, focusing on the first part as his way of processing the second.

— I'm...perhaps I'm, yes. See what I'm talking about?

— Aye — Merlin finally looked up — I have trouble sleeping. Had since I was a kid, got worse when I joined the Agency.

— No wonder, with all the caffeine you have daily — Harry joined his game of avoiding the main topic of their discussion.

— Holding an extra blanket helps me sleep. It helps me relax, especially when I pretend I'm holding... — Merlin glanced at Harry and then quickly looked down again, shily.

Harry's heart felt like exploding. Was the man actually declaring his feelings for him?

— You never said a word. I have been here having feelings for you all this time and-

— How could I? Ye never said it either. We can't anyway, why does it matter?! — Merlin's voice was cracking, his shields were down.

— You're right, I, we never did until...tonight. Fuck can't, Hamish. We both should and so we can. At least, that’s what I feel. That's how much it means to me. Is that how much it means to you?

He looked up, a certain expression on his face. — How could it mean anything less? It's ye.

Harry paced calmly on his way closer to Merlin, who had his eyes fixed on the man's.

— May I...? — Harry stated, carefully. Shily, like they were both teenagers.

— Aye.

Their lips brushed gently, at first. Then, it became passionate, the result of months yearning for that kiss. Caring, like in every touch they were saying “I love you” to each other.

— Harry, we cannae lie to ourselves here. Are ye sure? Are ye aware of what starting this means? — there was a serious tone in his voice.

— If this means that Kingsman’s new agents are two homosexuals in love with each other who will hide from everyone else in order to be together? Yes, I'm aware. I'm sure, Hamish. Are you?

Merlin cupped Harry’s face, giving him a tender kiss, followed by a tight hug. That meant an "aye".

— Ye still have that gin? — the wizard pulled back.

— I do.

— We'll need some of that when we get back to England. And a fine bottle of scotch. To face it all.

— Good. I have enough stock for years.

— Years, eh?

— Don't think you'll get rid of me easily, Hamish — he smiled, caressing the other's neck.

Merlin placed his arms around Galahad, sighting relieved.

— I won't, Harry — the wizard whispered in his ear.

— Dinner, then? — Harry smiled.

— Dinner. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed it :))

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
